


A Detective and Some Late Night Work

by Scattered_Irises



Series: HPSO Homicide Unit [1]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Alternate Universe - Police, Murder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-30
Updated: 2017-09-30
Packaged: 2019-01-07 03:04:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12224433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scattered_Irises/pseuds/Scattered_Irises
Summary: Another set of murders. Another case for Heartland's Special Operatives, Homicide Unit. The main investigators of the case, the Kamishiro twins, once again go to the private investigator, Tenjou Kaito. Whether they like it or not, it's a part of their "deal". Once the bright lights of Heartland fizzle out, a city of demons reveals itself. This is their city. And they must protect it.





	A Detective and Some Late Night Work

There was nothing that could have warmed up the frigid riverbank. Just like any other winter night. Rio smiled as she and her brother trudged their way through the dead grass and litter. A distant clock tower could be heard, chiming for 11. Only an owl replied. Unlike the rest of their sparkling city, this particular section was turned a blind eye to. Quietly reserved as a place where suspicious dealings were made, only people with “business” would visit this place. Perfect for late night work.  
Running his hair through his violet curls, Ryoga watched his breath cloud about him. He pulled his purple gem studded jacket closer to his body and cursed himself for wearing a t shirt. Adjusting his shoes and stamping away the cold, he went ahead of Rio. Giving one last look at the riverbank, Rio followed her brother, lips twitching as she looked at him. He was cold, but was trying to hide it with constant movement. She calmly walked, warm and snug in her woolen sweater. The wind gently pulled at her blue and azure locks and brushed against her pale skin as she walked along a small road.  
A sad lamp post led the way under the bridge, flickering and sputtering. The twins exchanged glances and went under the cement bridge. Water trickled from the ceiling and onto the dirt floor. Graffiti and dark stains colored the walls. The stench of spoiled food and garbage wafted about. Undeterred, the twins made their way to the other side. Greeted by the sounds of distant construction and lapping waves, the two knew that they were close.  
Making their way through the docks and warehouses, they stopped in front of a small and weathered building. The grime on the windows made it impossible to see inside. Faded paint peeled off the sides of the walls and the roof sagged. It almost blended in with all the other weathered buildings near the piers except for one small detail. A faded sign hung from the door, its letters slightly smeared. Tenjo Kaito, Private Investigator.  
Without a pause, Ryoga rapped on the door and let himself and Rio in. There was barely any difference in temperature as they entered. It was as if the “office” was a part of the chilly outside. A weak electronic chime croaked out their arrival as the door was closed. An oaken desk with papers neatly stacked upon it faced the twins. The ceiling held a lone lightbulb, about to flicker out of existence. To the side of the room was a deep green sofa, its stuffing creeping out. And then on the opposite side was a trap door on the worn floors. Except for the constant buzzing of electricity, the twins were greeted by silence.  
“I know you’re here. And I know as sure as hell that you’re not asleep,” called Ryoga as he made his way towards the desk.  
A creak. And then a shuffle from below. Slow footsteps made their way up the basement stairs. Creak. Thump. Creak. The hinges of the trap door loudly squeaked open. Making his way out was Kaito Tenjo, his eyes dark with circles. His cornflower blue eyes slowly turned to his guests, turquoise bangs fell into his eyes as he brushed back the rest of his blonde head. He wore a rumpled and thin jacket along with a pair of worn jeans and was barefoot as he exited the basement. His voice was husky as he spoke.  
“Finally. I thought this one scared you off,” muttered Kaito as he pushed down the trapdoor.  
Ryoga grimaced.  
“Well at least I’d have someone to cover for me, unlike you.”  
Kaito then turned his attention towards Rio. She smiled pleasantly in reply.  
“So what have you got for us?” asked Rio.  
Holding up one finger, Kaito went back behind his desk. The sound of shuffling papers and drawer creaking followed. Breathing in the musty air, Ryoga tapped his feet on the wooden floor impatiently. Tack. Tap. Tappity tap. Rio stared out the grime filled window, the piers blurred and shadowed. How many times had she been to Kaito’s office…? Cree…Giving a final groan as its drawers were closed, the oaken desk once again retreated into silence. Kaito then came out with a file folder in his hands.  
“I’m sure you already know most of the material in here. But I was able to find a few more by following my own code,” said Kaito.  
Ryoga scoffed.  
“Breaking and entering again? They’re going to catch you one day. And I won’t be there to delete your records,” muttered Ryoga.  
Pretending not to hear him, Kaito turned to Rio. In turn, Rio reached out for the folder. The private investigator’s hand tightened its grip on the file folder as it came close to Rio. A slight pause followed. Then Rio met Kaito’s gaze.  
Nonchalantly, Rio asked, “What do you want?”  
The private detective blinked.  
“As you know, I’m also on this case. And I have crossed paths with the police multiple times. My client doesn’t want me to get in too much trouble...so I want you to delete some files on the database. You know which ones, don’t you?” murmured Kaito.  
Rio nodded.  
“The usual files. Like every other time.”  
With a slight bob of his head, Kaito released his grip on the folder. Taking the papers, Rio exchanged a look with Ryoga. He then took the folder from Rio and began thumbing through the contents. His expression slowly darkened. Careful not to spill any of the papers, Ryoga placed the folder on Kaito’s desk.  
“These are documents from our offices. Private documents. Since when did you have the guts for breaking into HPSO and copying stuff like this?” growled Ryoga. “And how? There’s members there every hour of the day!”  
Kaito’s mouth was a thin line. He rested a hand on the papers, earning another creak from the oaken table. His eyes were narrow and stormy.  
“I thought we went over this,” he hissed. “You’re not the only ones to do business with me. Now you either take the folder or leave it.”  
Returning the glare, Ryoga pushed away Kaito’s hand and snatched away the file. Turning to Rio, he said, “Alright. Business is done here. Let’s go investigate.”  
“But we haven’t even looked over the entire file..,” Rio trailed off as Ryoga turned his back to her.  
She gave Kaito a quick nod and followed her twin out the door. The buzzer croaked out its farewell. And then the door slammed, shaking the flimsy wooden walls of the little office. Kaito merely shrugged and headed back down to the basement again. There would always be another time.  
Outside, the young detectives were walking through the warehouses, the cold air swirling about.  
“Just how many people does that guy have in his pocket?” Ryoga growled. “It’s already bad that we’re in an “agreement” with him. We don’t need anymore people deleting his files or doing his dirty work. There’s already enough corruption in the Heartland Police Department. We don’t need any more of it here at Heartland Police Special Operatives.”  
Rio only smiled and continued walking. “Any more of it.” Did he truly think they were the only ones? Once again passing through the decrepit warehouses and docks, the clock tower’s chime could be heard dully. 11:30. The night had barely started. When the twins made it past the bridge, Ryoga yawned. A giggle escaped from his sister.  
“And I thought we’d be spending more time at Kaito’s..,” slurred Ryoga.  
“We could have. If you didn’t lose your temper,” muttered Rio. “You should really stop expecting him to give you free coffee every time you come over. But usually we’d still be there, discussing all the evidence and making discoveries...But thanks to you, it’s different tonight.”  
Her brother scoffed.  
“Our office is better than his shack. Plus the heating there actually works,” said Ryoga, defending his pride.  
Rio shrugged her shoulders and walked ahead of her brother. Once again, she opened the folder and peered at the contents.  
Victim #1: Found near docks. Died of lacerations. Unidentified, male. “+” marking on wrist.  
Victim #2: Found at Sector 9.3. Died of lacerations. Unidentified, female. Same “+” marking on neck.  
Victim #3: Found at Sector 6.8. Died of lacerations. Unidentified, male. Same “+” marking on forehead.  
The detective closed the file folder. The same basic location. The same cause of death. There was absolutely nothing new on the first paper. She turned the page. There were copies of the same reports filed at her office. She skipped through the entire stack of typed up papers. When she reached the bottom of the file, she breathed a sigh of relief. A single looseleaf sheet of notebook paper greeted her like an old friend. It was one of the most important pieces of paper that was always in the folders Kaito gave them. His own personal notes, devoid of opinion and corrupted evidence. You could never be sure of HPD papers. She took the page out of the folder and skim read it. She smiled.  
“You know, I think teaming up with Kaito was one of the best choices we ever made. He helps us solve the crime, we help him earn money,” said Rio, waving the notes under Ryoga’s nose.  
The distaste immediately showed on Ryoga’s sharp features.  
“We help him do half of his job. And he helps us with half of ours....Is how he puts it. But it’s more “we gather all the evidence within our authority, Kaito gathers evidence for his own client and we combine our findings. Then we clean up after the messes Kaito made with HPD”. It’s not balanced,” scoffed Ryoga.  
“But we can’t back out now, even if we wanted to. We’re in too deep,” murmured Rio as she looked through the notes a second time. “Look at this.”  
Her brother caught up with her and peered over her shoulders.  
“So. He did find some things.Things that anyone with a badge could never find,” Ryoga muttered.  
Rio shrugged.  
“We’re just doing our job. Defending Heartland City law and bringing murderers to justice. We have different rules from Kaito. But in the end we always can find another way to acquire evidence,” said Rio as she looked at the folder in her hands.  
Her twin scoffed and grabbed the notes from Rio. Kaito’s bold and closely spaced handwriting spread over the margins and crammed the blue lines. The letters swam about, as if fighting for territory. Two lines of writing in one blue line crammed the page. Not a single line was left blank.  
Searched inside #1’s presumably missing car. Bank transactions were found. Keeping them with me. Don’t ask how I found it. Talked to one of my connections on the victim. Apparently just moved here alone. Hasn’t been registered on the official registry. No one knows his real name. One of my connections say he’s been seen past the bridge. No one knows about where he came from either. Been seen near the city limits frequently before his death. Constantly moving around, never staying in one place for long. “Leaves nothing behind.” Said to have been very wary of his surroundings and very high strung. “Always had somewhere to go, somewhere to be.” Carried a leather suitcase everywhere he went. Nowhere seen on his dead body, as you know. Contents unknown. He would never reveal what was inside and got very angry when questioned. A connection said he would often mumble to himself and look around nervously…  
Ryoga set Kaito’s notes down and sighed. He knew the private investigator wrote two sets of notes and how he omitted certain bits of information for the second copy. Their copy. Never allowing the twins the full report had always been the unsaid rule in their dealings.  
“You can’t always depend on me for clues. Nor can I always depend on you to clear the path. We all need to earn our keep as detectives and that means doing most of the hard work,” said Kaito one late night as he handed the twins a folder.  
His words echoed in Ryoga’s mind as he walked up the riverbank, the cold wind blowing about. The distant clock tower chimed for midnight. A few moments of the distant chiming filled the air. And then silence once again crept in like an invisible fog. Rio was now besides him, her breath clouding,cher soft eyes shimmering in the light. Not a hint of fatigue showed on her face. Stifling a yawn, Ryoga nodded and followed his sister. The night was still young according to the detectives.


End file.
